Book review
Zushe YosefBlech
Pub. by Wiley-Blackwell 2008 e142.90
The second edition of Kosher Food Production explores the intricate relationship between modern food production and related Kosher application. Following an introduction to basic Kosher laws, theory and practice, Rabbi Blech details the essential food production procedures required of modern food plants to meet Kosher certification standards. Chapters on Kosher application include ingredient management; rabbinic etiquette; Kosher for Passover; and the industries of fruits and vegetables, baking, biotechnology, dairy, fish, flavour, meat and poultry, oils, fats, and emulsifiers, and food service. New to this edition are chapters covering Kosher application in the candy and confections industries and the snack foods industry. A collection of over 50 informative commodity-specific essays – specifically geared to the secular audience of food scientists – then follows, giving readers insight and understanding of the concerns behind the Kosher laws they are expected to accommodate.

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Book review
Dolf De Rovira, Sr.
Pub. by Wiley-Blackwell 2008 €177.00
Dictionary of Flavors provides information on flavours, flavour chemistry and natural products, as well as a perspective on the related fields of regulatory, sensory, chemistry, biology, pharmacology, business, bacteriology, marketing and psychology. Flavours covered include those used in food and beverages, tobacco flavourings, alcoholic beverages, and pet and animal foods. Comparative flavour chemistry is used to evaluate and describe homologous groups of similar chemical structures. Coverage in the second edition is extended to include the many significant and recent changes in the fields of flavour chemistry, food technology, and regulatory. Definitions of many items are expanded and inclusion of new items is extensive.

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Blow-moulder/filler for the low output range
Equally suitable for soft drinks, still water and beer, the Synchroblock A module is a cost-efficient system comprising a blow-moulder and filler unit. Suitable for low to mid production ranges, the system can blow-mould and fill up to 8,000 containers an hour, without having to use any air conveyors. This provides users with many advantages such as a significant reduction in operating costs and lower water consumption. The blow-moulding unit is versatile enough to produce container sizes ranging from 0.1 to 3.0 litres. For this reason, access to the machine has been specially simplified, so that the moulds can be changed swiftly and easily. The containers are passed via a transfer table to the isobaric filler, whose pneumatically controlled VKP filling valves assure accurate, foam-free filling. The machine is optimised in terms of hygiene and microbiological safety.
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Edited by Daphna Havkin-Frenkel and Faith C. Belanger
Biotechnology can deliver complex flavours both as fermentation products and single constituents. Recent developments in transgenic research have spawned numerous studies in the use of metabolic engineeringof biosynthetic pathways to produce high-value secondary metabolites that can enhance the flavours of food products. Biotechnology is also playing an increasingly important role in the breeding of food crops for enhanced flavour.
This book provides a unique overview of the current state of the art of flavour production through biotechnology, examining the principles and current methods of producing flavours from plants and other organisms. Chapters are included on plant tissue culture, genetic engineering of plants for flavour improvement and genetic engineering of bacteria and fungi for flavour improvement of fermented beverages and dairy products. The book is directed at food scientists and technologists in the food and flavour industries as well as academics and ingredients suppliers.
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Biochip screening for antibiotic residues in food. Antibiotics are sometimes used to control disease in food animals, however, drug residues in food can pose a health risk to consumers. Allergies to sulphonamide antibiotics are relatively common – causing skin rashes, hives, pruritus and anaphylactic shock. It is essential to restrict antibiotic drug residues in foods, both to avoid unnecessary consumer exposure to drugs, and to limit the development of antibiotic resistance by ensuring antibiotics are used correctly and responsibly. Recently, there have been a number of news reports about imported foods that are contaminated with drug residues.  This highlights the need for quick, sensitive and cost-effective tests suitable for screening large numbers of samples.
A biochip screening test to detect sulphonamide antibiotic drug residues in meat, honey, feed and livestock is available. The anti-microbial array utilises a biochip containing an array of immobilised antibodies, each specific to a different antibiotic. The biochip simultaneously tests for 12 sulphonamide antibiotics in just 50 microlitres of urine or one gram of tissue, honey or feed. Simple sample preparation procedures and simultaneous testing enable a rapid throughput with minimum effort – 540 tests in under 2½ hours. The Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) is the maximum level of drug residue that is permitted in food. The EU has assigned an MRL of 100 ppb for all sulphonamide drugs. The anti-microbial array has sensitivities below 10 ppb for each sulphonamide, more than adequate for drug residue screening. Positive samples are retested using a confirmatory method such as HPLC or LC-MS. Biochip screening for antibiotic residues in food
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